Breakout Session at REAIM 2024
Published 3 September 2024
On 9 September 2024, the DILEMA Project is organising a breakout session in the context of the REAIM 2024 Summit in Seoul. The session is titled ‘Beyond the Black Box: Unpacking Explainability in Military AI’ and will discuss the role of explainability in AI applications in the military domain from legal, ethical, technical and operational perspectives.
Description
This breakout session contributes to ongoing regulatory debates by clarifying and operationalising the concept of explainability in military AI. The session facilitates expert discussion of the role of explainability in AI applications in the military domain from legal, ethical, technical and operational perspectives. It addresses key issues around what explainability entails, the challenges associated with this concept, its relevance across the lifecycle of AI systems and how it intersects with concepts like traceability, transparency, and accountability. Participants will gain insights into socio-technical approaches to operationalising explainability across the lifecycle of AI systems, from design and development to deployment and use in the military domain. The panel will address the challenges of ensuring that AI systems are not only technically explainable but also comprehensible and usable by military personnel under operational conditions. By unpacking the nuances of explainability, this session will contribute to a deeper understanding of its role in shaping global norms and regulatory frameworks for responsible military AI.
Key Guiding Questions
- Is explainability of military applications of AI required from an operational, legal or ethical perspective in military applications of AI? If so, why?
- How can sufficient levels of explainability be operationalised throughout the lifecycle of the development and use of military applications of AI?
- What are the implications of these understandings of explainability for the governance of responsible AI in the military domain?
Speakers
- Dr Zena Assaad (Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering/Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) Fellow)
- LtCol Tom Hong (Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, HQ Eighth Army, USAG Humphreys, Korea)
- Dr Nathan Wood (Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences)
- Taylor Woodcock (Researcher in international law, Asser Institute/University of Amsterdam)
- Moderator: Dr Marta Bo (Associate Senior Researcher, SIPRI; Senior Researcher, Asser Institute/University of Amsterdam)